ECALL Health Medical Center

23/03/2023

We now available for chat or bookings on our new page kindly find link below:

https://www.facebook.com/ecallhealthcenter?mibextid=ZbWKwL

Medical & health

30/04/2021

DEAR WONDERFUL FRIENDS AND KEEN READERS OF OUR FACEBOOK PAGE..

THIS FACEBOOK PAGE WILL BE PHASED OUT DURING THE LAUNCHING OF THE ECALL WEBSITE, AND A NEW FACEBOOK PAGE WITH OUR NEW LOGO WILL BE CREATED.

MEDICAL RELATED TOPICS WILL NOW BE POSTED IN ECALL WEB BLOG PAGE - SO CHECK OUR WEB PAGE FOR OUR BLOGS.

HAPPY DAY

29/04/2021

CHECK OUT OUR NEW WEBSITE THAT WILL BE LAUNCHED VERY SOON - AND WELCOME OUR NEW PAEDS NURSE

ECALL TEAM WOULD LIKE TO CORDIALLY WELCOME A VERY EXPERIENCED PAEDIATRIC NURSE, MR WINTER, WHO JUST JOINED US YESTERDAY. CONGRATULATIONS WINTER! ITS THE RIGHT TIME TO BE AT ECALL, ESPECIALLY DURING THIS HOT WEATHER!

19/04/2021

With the recent arrival of Kits - We can now do hepatitis B&C, HIV, and syphilis tests at ECALL

31/03/2021

Finally our kits arrived! DENGUE TESTING KITS

30/03/2021

ISLAND LIVING
(Episode 20 – Liberation!)

“Are you a front liner?

I took me 48 hours to realize that maybe I should have said something else.

Usually when you meet a stranger, the first exchanges are usually questions…trying to get some ‘connection’.

It’s not very comforting, when you are merely a meter away, face to face….seconds of silence feels like eternity.

So you can be forgiven for saying something….otherwise

You arrived home thinking to yourself.

“Why the hell did I say that”?

“Or, I should have said this”!

I got my first COVID 19 shot (AstraZeneca) 6 days ago in a hall converted into a ‘medical facility’ that looks more like coming out from a sci-fi movie.

Everything is religiously designed ….and bleaching white!

It was reported (international media) that some COVID 19 cases, who woke up from a coma – regretted being ‘waken up’.

As your eyes opens up to the reality world, your mind was thinking, “Who the hell brought me here? I want to return to paradise”.

So here I am, slightly nervous, as I made my way through the barrage of ‘stations’ manned by one to two (or sometimes three) personals.

Questions, then paper works, then some more questions, and suddenly you find yourself in a large building containing room block, with dormitory beds.

Along the hall are chairs in front of the rooms, manned by uniformed personals with hardly any facial expression, or if anything…a weak smile!

“Where I’m I”?

It’s actually the newly build COVID Facility (converted from a hall) that for some reasons reminds me of the COVID hospitals that popped out of nowhere in Wuhan in early 2020.

After getting my shot I was facing this other guy who just received a shot minutes before me, and we were basically staring at each other, at the wall and floor, not knowing what to say.

Whatever is in our heads, definitely, there is some element of fear – staring into each other’s fears!

But there is also the set-up, the staff and standard of professionalism in the facility that gave me confidence.

To ease the tension, I decided to crack some conversation with the roommate stranger

Who of all things asked me if I am a front liner?

Somehow I told him ‘I am somewhere behind the front liner’…I hope that make sense.

He basically shook his head….more like confusion.

Everything goes well and I find myself on my way back to my office

Whether it is the dusty road, I knew that I am not all that well – feeling warm, body aches and headaches that went through the night.

I had a disrupted sleep may be because I was thinking I could die the next minute.

“What could happen to me right now”?

“I am I going to collapse and die”?

“I decided not to read anything about vaccine anymore, it’s pointless”.

The next day I was 100 percent

“What a great relief”

You know what it feels like?

“Liberation”

So what is the answer to if I am a front liner or not?

The answer does not matter anymore….

It’s about protecting the community – who could be your brother, mother, aunt or even you child or even yourself.

As a medical professional what could be more dutiful than that?

16/03/2021

ISLAND LIVING

(Episode 19– Against all odds)

The morning sun gradually lights up the room with its percolating yellow rays, blazing through the window….but the room is not giving up aloof that easily…..a good excuse for a hot steamy coffee.

I was not even halfway through my morning ritual, when the door to my office suddenly slides open, and a young lady carrying a baby hurried into the room.

“Hello mum, how can help you”? As I scramble to my feet.

“My child is coughing with short of breath”

“Is he feverish”?

“At times he feels hot”, said the mother as she rubs her fingers across the babies forehead.

I think to myself “Let me try the latest technology”

The first thing on my mind was a pulse oximeter that I found in the nursing room after scourging with frustration.

“Well, it’s here now, let’s get the heart rate”

After doing whatever I could with the gadget, it could not produce any reading

“I am not going to waste my time on this piece of equipment”, I thought to myself, as I walk over to my table and took out my stethoscope.

After listening to the chest, I got an infrared thermometer, point at the baby’s forehead but then no reading. I took out an ear thermometer, and no reading as well.

“So I decided to resort to touching to check the baby’s temperature”

After prescribing the treatment for the baby, it got me thinking of how in today’s technology the good old stethoscope is still ‘the doctors golden tool’

Not too long ago it was believed that with the speed of technology growth, doctors would no longer be walking around with stethoscope handing around their neck.

But here I am in the COVID era, the most useful gadget at my disposal.

It’s not your most attractive looking piece of gadget, for in fact it started out as a simple medieval funnel, that over time modified to become the doctors most reliable equipment.

Against all odds….

10/03/2021

ISLAND LIVING

(Episode18 - Back pain)

There are times, even with North Pole equivalent temperature, the car is still hot as hell – probably better off letting your car doors open…if you can tolerate the dust.

Or if you are in a public bus, then I wish you good luck,

Either way you still end up at the doctor’s office,

“Hey doctor, I feel sick, can you check me”

“Of course, what brought you here”?

“Doctor, I have been having this constant pain on my back and bum, and despite all sorts of medication including massage, it does not seem to be any better”?

“May be you had a fall, or you are engaged in some activity that put strain on your back”?

“Doctor I suspected that I have been banged repeatedly, and that could have contributed”?

“What are you trying to tell me”?

“Doctor, if I am a laboring mother I would definitely deliver in the car”!

“Oh the road”?

“Yes the pot holes seem to be growing by the day, and if they are not fixed soon, we will be traveling through valleys, or we will need boats to travel on our roads”

“Well, I guess that would be the ultimate cure to your back pains…we get rid of all the pot holes”

“Just give me some stronger pain killer doc, I am late for meeting”

“Oh one last thing doctor, do you have the number to the Ambulance, in case I need it”

04/03/2021

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23/01/2021

ISLAND LIVING

(Episode 17 – Good bye 2020, welcome 2021)

Gasping for air……

“Can anyone bring the oxygen please”?

In the distant, darkness was closing in, things getting blurry, impending doom……with just enough air to mumble your last prayer.

You felt gradual smacking on your face, as you wake up to a wondering group of people staring at you…”Wake up, wake up”

You felt headache for a while that slowly dissipated with cold water poured over your face and even massages in other parts of your body.

That moment felt like eternity

Somehow 2020 felt like eternity

The COVID 19,

The political cloud over our country,

And the uncertainty over our economic outlook

I decided to take a coffee break this morning (after working hard over the Christmas period)…and the coffee is stunningly miraculous….but it’s not the coffee that gets me thinking today.

After what looks like eternity of confusion and darkness, there is brightness at the end of the tunnel.

I notice some business friends taking steps, adjusting their business operations, improving their customer services and customer flow.

It’s always rewarding to see people getting back from the depression of 2020, and taking steps to a bright 2021.

2020 is not the end but beginning of better things to come,

Let embrace 2021 for a prosperous year

Good bye 2020

Welcome 2021

From ECALL TEAM

03/01/2021

FAMILY MEDICINE
(Episode 3 – Zombie paradise)

When Americans landed on our shores in 1942, it was mostly young men, on an adventurous campaign to ‘paradise’ – may be even a holiday.

It appears that it was no paradise at all, for there is something else probably more challenging than facing their human foes.

Some say that more Americans die from that ‘thing’ than the barrel of a gun

And may be their foes are equally affected by this ‘deadly island phenomena’

Luckily they brought with them docs who administered medicines but of course during those times the medicine also has serious side effects.

It’s not the paradise these young men believed it to be a but a jungle land harboring this phenomena that basically lamed, dragged, simply rendered helpless – becoming a zombies.

Today we are still are still being zombified by his disease that since antiquity has been given various names – Black water fever, Marsh fever, bad air etc.

And like COVID 19 it is most likely a zoonotic disease but has evolved with us since time immemorial.

With a new resistant strain recently detected in Africa as reported by Scientific American, it is a pretty concerning development given the adhoc public system we have in our country, and the current diversion of funds into COVID 19.

With the recent trends of malaria recurrent infection seen in our country, it’s a tail tell sign of what is soon to come.

This is no paradise,

The zombies are coming…..

23/12/2020

ISLAND LIVING
(Episode 16 – HAPPY MERRY CHRISTMAS)

Finally the rush hour is over, and everybody is packed into the front part of the ship (covered by a tarpaulin), sitting on the hutch, finally a relief from the hot sun, but into the oxygen deprived human crowd.

So crowded you just have to stay put – for hours on end until you reach your destination.

But that is how our holiday goers sacrifice comfort for the holiday rush hour – and not only that, it was fun, enjoyable and adventurous, especially with our wantoks.

As I was making my way out of the wharf, two boys were screaming for the ship to return – by now it is 20 meters away from the wharf. A megaphone from the captain instructed them to run to a nearby wharf for pick up!

“Where else could this happen but in the Solomon’s”

May be I am too busy, but the central market reminded me that Christmas s just tomorrow – the rush hour at the market is one beyond description.

There is hardly any space for everyone, vendors invading the walkway, the road and even the bus stop, leaving hardly any space for the shoppers!

There is hardly any comfort, shopping at a place where you have to move in a stop-move fashion every second– or else you get bumped into people.

Last night I went to the Honiara wharf and got stuck in another traffic jam – enroute towards the heavily guarded ports entrance.

At the entrance the Unity pack was so beautifully lit with its colorful lights, and it is wonderful to see youths, families, couples and just individuals, admiring the lights, taking pictures and selfies – not surprising to see many familiar faces in the crowd.

The jetty is equally crowded by both ship and human beings

After dropping off a parcel in a boat, I took off, watching the holiday goers at different stages of their travelling – smiling, and looking forward to celebrate Christmas at their villages.

After a long hard year of hard work, and the bumpy rush hour, it is time to celebrate Christmas with our loved ones, and tap ourselves on the back.

From ECALL TEAM,

We extend our happy merry Christmas and a prosperous new year to you and your families

HAPPY CELEBRATION!

22/12/2020

No better time to celebrate this iconic park that Ports gifted to our people - A timely gift indeed.

20/12/2020

ISLAND LIVING
(Episode 15 – Celebrate responsibly)

Have you faced awkward moments?

Where you just feel like,

“What the hell is going on”?

On my way home after work in the evening, a whizzing truck, so fast, I could feel its sonic vibration, half a body popping out through the front window, shouting hysterically.

After watching the truck, from behind, weaving through the road, almost hitting another car in front, it gets me thinking,

“Looks like another group of drunkards”

To put it in another perspective,

Have you been to a party or function, or even a club, seeing someone so intoxicated, you could not believe the behavior?

The next day,

“He drank so much, he can’t remember anything”

Or in the newspaper you read something like this,

A group of boys were taken to hospital after a freak accident last night, and police found alcohol in their blood.

These days’ festive seasons can also mean ‘alcohol’ – and lots of them

Christmas is a time to celebrate with families and friends – and if you get too carried away, you can lose your guard, and things can get nasty.

You don’t want to be in another awkward moment – or a more serious one

Celebrate this festive season with responsibility

07/12/2020

ISLAND LIVING
(Episode 14 – Life & Health battle field)

Life in general does not come free – we have to battle it out.

From day one since we are conceptualized in our mother’s womb – we battle it inside, to grow healthy, survive the violent labor during our exit, scampering the unpredictable first risky year of life, and then the roller-coaster of adult life thrown at you.

When we are sick, our body’s immune system tries to get rid of the disease. We battle for survival by taking various medications and treatments, or even surgeries.

When we are down due to some life miserable events we look to reliable friends, family members, counselors or religion for support and comfort.

“Who said life is a smooth sail?”

“May be we are too complacent, too occupied, that often times, we overlook the smaller things in life?”

As is the case in our money obsessed world, we jump here and there, for opportunities, for work, for education and for money.

We have always been, and will always be a fighter in us.

With this fighting spirit, we can also apply the same approach into looking after our own health.

When you get sick, go see a doctor

Allocate some of your funds – for the rainy day especially with your health, setting aside funds, taking more proactive approach to eating the right food, getting exercise, and living a healthy life

It is all there – naturally ingrained in us

To battle it out,

For our life and our health

05/12/2020

If kept too long infected appendix can get nasty... Not nice when you have pus in your belly

02/12/2020

ISLAND LIVING

(Episode 13 – Mystic as Kakamora)

Solomon Islands remain mystic for another 200 years after mendana’s discovery of the islands.

And like the islands, its people remain somewhat mysterious – luring explorers to return.

If you watch Moana movie – it is a Hollywood movie based on Polynesian folklore, and somehow ‘Kakamora’ made its way into this movie.

I had a friend from another province married to a Makiran, who told me,

“Makira is so addictive that they never miss their holidays in Makira”
So what is this Makira addiction?

Is it six months pudding?

Or is it the land of Banana?

Or is it a place where Kong Taro grows wild?

Or is it a land where the word ‘holiday’ does not even come close?

01/12/2020

ISLAND LIVING
(Episode 12 – “Chiiiiiieeeef”)

I had a random meet with some friends at a coffee shop few days ago, who offered a lift back to my office, and on our way out, I waved to a guy sitting nearby, saying ‘hih’’ to him.

They asked me,

“Who is that guy, he looks familiar”?

I grinned, and giggled, buying time, trying to invent a name,

Hesitantly mumbled a few psedo-names, and said,

“i…i…i….forgot”

The next thing they asked is

“So how do you know him”?

I could not hide my embarrassment, sternly answered,

“I have known this guy for almost 20 years!”,

How many times have you met a person today and only to forget his name the next day?

It’s the western norm that forgetting someone’s name is not only embarrassing, but is not polite?

Sometimes I asked myself,

“How bad can your memory get, when you meet someone, only to forget their names seconds later”?

So we go by faces and being polite, trying to come up with some labels

‘tabs’, ‘ganga’, ‘bossy’, ‘chief’, ‘wantok’ or go as far as using nick names, or where that person comes from ‘walfai’, ‘bo’, kwaks’, ‘relkoa’, ‘chai’, ‘agu’, ‘tio’, ‘rio’, ‘rarai’, ‘moko’, ‘Ratu’, ‘boso’, ‘Vuniwai’, ‘mate or buddy (Australian accent)’, ‘soa’, ‘kebo’, ‘sisi dance’ and the list goes on, and on.

Now I realize, may be its not that we have short term memory loss, or are early signs of dementia, it could be a very cultural thing?

When we meet, we don’t ask names straight away, it is offensive to do that, so instead we giggle, we laugh, share a smoke, or a betel nut, and then next time we meet we still don’t know each other’s names, but only by faces.

When someone asked, “what’s his name”?,

“We all looked at each other confused”

Then someone said, “Oh his name is….Tom. Or Jack or whatever”.

So next time we meet, instead of names,

“Chieeeeef”!,

It’s a very island thing; we hardly use names, to the extent of forgetting their names but their faces.

“Yeah, I remember this guy from somewhere”, scratching your head, in a confused state

We still laugh, joke, talk, and stare at each other, not knowing each other’s names

And it’s okay,